The Hound of the Cancer Cells/Transcript
Joan Watson: "Now that your hand's better, who's gonna shake all the paint around here". Okay, that is in questionable taste. Detective Bell: It was a gift from the guys for passing my firearms re-qualification. Far as I'm concerned, under the circumstances, they can joke all they want. Watson: Well, you know I'm happy for you, too, right? Bell: Prove it. A bunch of us are getting together after work Friday. You should come. Your partner, too. Watson: Is that why you asked me here? To invite us to a party? Bell: Actually, I was hoping to catch you and Holmes. A few months back, I was working a homicide out of East New York. Drug dealer named Quame Martenz shot and killed a neighborhood kid. We've liked Martenz for other shootings before, but this is the first time a witness was willing to talk. At least she was at first. Name's Nicole Watkins. She's 18. ADA's Office called me this morning, said she got cold feet. Told the DA's Office to stop calling and dropped out of sight. Watson: You think Martenz threatened her? Bell: It's a good guess. DA's Office issued a material witness order, but no one can find her. Thought maybe you guys could lend some extra eyes? Watson: I'm guessing if she doesn't testify, Martenz walks. Bell: Probably. Watson: All right, I will let you know if we come up with anything. We find her, you're making me a martini with that thing. Barry Granger: Morning, Sherman. Miss me? Who's there? Please stop. I don't want to die. Captain Gregson: Name's Barry Granger. MD, Ph.D. DOA. Lab assistant found him like this this morning, with this suicide note in his lap. Sherlock Holmes: "I'm sorry it's all true. I can't live any longer with what I've done. Barry." Watson: Helium is common in labs like this. And as morbid as it sounds, it's supposed to be a good way to go. Your body doesn't even know it's not receiving oxygen. You just go to sleep. and you never wake up. Holmes: In other words, at least by appearances, this man used what was handy in the workplace to provide himself with a convenient exit. But of course you have your suspicions. Or else we wouldn't be here. Gregson: Granger was the first one in this morning. Lab assistant found him alone. Sweaty running clothes. Shower stall in there is wet. Watson: So Dr. Granger ran to work. And then changed here. Gregson: Who does that before killing themselves? It's not like a suicidal guy would worry about staying in shape. Watson: So what do you think? Someone put a gun to his head, forced him to do this? Holmes: Nothing quite so clumsy. Have a look at this. Tacky residue on the bottom of the door. And on the floor as if someone has taped the gap shut. I need something powdery that won't kill us. Surprise me. Gregson: Care to tell us what you're doing? Holmes: Just a moment. I think you're right. Dr. Granger was murdered. He was asphyxiated with gas while he showered. Most likely with helium so the M.E.'s findings would match the narrative that we were meant to believe. The killer taped three hoses, une, deux, trois, under the doorway. Sealed the gap with tape. Once the victim had lost consciousness he was dried, clothed, and staged. Watson: Any security videos? Gregson: There's none in the lab. The staff says that's 'cause the work was confidential. I did notice a few on the way in, but... Holmes: Given the knowledge of the lab and the victim that this murder demonstrates, it's likely the killer knew how to avoid them. Gregson: I'm gonna pull the security video. I'll let you know if we get lucky. Watson: Excuse me, any idea what "it's all true" refers to? Lab Assistant: A few weeks ago, Dr. Granger published the results of a study that we were doing. Last week, a reader e-mailed the journal it was in, and said the results were faked. Holmes: Were they? Lab Assistant: I wouldn't know. But uh, he was up in arms about it. An accusation like that can ruin a guy's career. Watson: What were you studying? Holmes: Is something troubling about that question? Lab Assistant: No, I want to help. I, I just don't know what I'm allowed to say. I signed an NDA. Holmes: Surely you can tell us about the contents of Dr. Granger's article, that's been made public. Perhaps you give us the name of the person who asked you to sign the NDA and we can pose our questions to them? Hank Prince: This has to be the craziest day of my life. Watson: I'd say Barry Granger had a crazier one. Prince: Barry was my friend. I'm devastated. But I'm also personally screwed by all this. So excuse me if I'm a little shell-shocked. Holmes: Would you be so kind as to explain your relationship to Dr. Granger and the work he was doing. I'm sure we'll feel awful for you momentarily. Prince: That device that you're holding is a breathalyzer that detects cancer. Watson: Well, I read about that being possible in theory. Dogs being able to smell when their owners have cancer. Apparently cancer cells give off different gasses than healthy ones. Holmes: And this device is meant to detect them in your breath. Your company holds the patent? Dr. Granger's connection? Prince: He was running clinical trials. A hundred subjects known to have lung cancer, a hundred who don't. It's a blind study to see if "The Hound" gets it right. Watson: "The Hound?" Prince: Uh, it's just a working name. We had to call it something. Holmes: We understand that an anonymous tipster claimed that Dr. Granger falsified his results. Prince: It works. But that accusation changed everything. Now no one believes the study. A month ago, analysts were calling that a billion-dollar invention. And today, my investors are pulling out. Holmes: Might I ask you your whereabouts this morning around 6:00? I'm simply coming around to your point. The scandal you're referring to may have cost you a fortune. If Dr. Granger did falsify his results, perhaps someone killed him in anger. Prince: I'm the last person who would've hurt Barry. That detector is my life's work. Barry didn't falsify anything. Barry didn't jaywalk. He was a good guy. And besides, can you imagine if the police hadn't seen through that suicide note? It would have completely legitimized the accusation. Holmes: Sorry, you still haven't answered my question. Your whereabouts this morning? Prince: I was with my girlfriend. I spent the night at her place. Watson: And that's cause for secrecy because? Prince: I'm in the middle of a divorce. Holmes: Your affair's been going on longer than your wife is aware. Prince: If she finds out, her lawyers'll have a field day. I never would've hurt Barry. I was counting on him to help, help me dig out from under all this. And now...my girlfriend's name is Sloan Teller. I'll give you her number so you can talk to her. I just ask that you don't tell my ex. Watson: Hank Prince's girlfriend backed him up. Said she was with him all morning. Holmes: Not surprising. He was telling the truth when he said he'd be better off with a live Barry Granger than a dead one. Watson: Well, score one for cheating husbands. Holmes: Hank Prince may be a very naughty boy, but he may also be remembered for giving the world a great innovation. Based on Dr. Granger's study, "The Hound" appeared to be quite promising, or at least it did until his research was called into question by an anonymous tipster. Correction. Pseudonymous. The tipster goes by the name Adam Peer, a peer. And from what I've learned, he's been quite an irritant to the research community. He reads scientific and medical journals, he spots errors and fraud from the comfort of his undisclosed sofa, and then e-mails his criticisms via an anonymous server. Watson: Oh, sounds like something you would do. Holmes: Comparison proudly embraced. He is, at heart, a fellow detective. And one whose track record is quite good. He's incited a number of embarrassing retractions. Watson: Hmm. Holmes: But you obviously find him far less interesting than I do. Watson: I'm waiting for some information about that girl that Bell's looking for. Holmes: Nicole Watkins. Watson: Yeah, well, apparently she had a favorite teacher. Kind of a surrogate dad. He's retired now. I thought maybe she would get in touch with him. The school's supposed to text me his address. Oh! by the way, Bell is having a party this Friday. I thought that we could... Holmes: Captain is e-mailing us a video clip from the lab's security. No luck spotting our killer entering or exiting, but the cameras did catch Dr. Granger arguing with an unidentified woman two nights ago. Take a look. Watson: Mmm, looks pretty heated. Holmes: Dr. Granger made a number of calls from his cell phone to the same number in the days leading up to his death. A woman named Dalit Zirin. The last of these calls is one hour before this argument. Watson: You think that's the woman in the video. Holmes: Well, we can find out. Dalit Zirin: I'm sorry, it's just I can't believe Barry is dead. Holmes: May I ask how you and Dr. Granger knew each other? Zirin: We went to college together. Barry he had a thing for me. Watson: But the feeling wasn't mutual. Zirin: I didn't mind back then. It was cute. Then last month, I guess he looked me up online. I had to tell him I still wasn't interested. I mean, it took some voice-raising for him to get the message. Is something wrong? Holmes: No. Thank you for your time. Our condolences for your loss. Watson: Thank you. Watson: Okay, cameras everywhere, high-tech locks, obviously not a travel agency. And I think she was lying about her relationship with Granger. Holmes: Agreed and agreed. Can't say for certain, but given their cover, I would guess some sort of smuggling operation. One can imagine any number of scenarios where Granger saw something he shouldn't have, got himself killed. I'm also quite confident there were concealed weapons within reach of every individual in there, notable exceptions being us. Watson: Explains the hasty exit. Holmes: Normally, I'm a fan of confirming if I'm right, but I think it's best to contact Captain Gregson and let him bring reinforcements. Watson: It's Nicole Watkins' school. They sent me the address of that retired teacher, Manny Rose. Holmes: We should go. The Captain says he'll get a search warrant, but it might take a couple of hours to find a friendly judge. I'll contact you when I hear from him. Watson: Okay. Watson: I know it's a long shot, Mr. Rose, but it sounded like Nicole got really close to you. It looks like a lot of your students do. Manny Rose: I try to help them when I can. Sometimes it's just believing in them. Sometimes it's helping them stay alive. Watson: Is there any chance that you've seen her or been in touch with her? She's here? Rose: I'd avoid using the words "police" or "testify." At least at first. Watson: Nicole? I'm Joan Watson. I'm friends with Marcus Bell. I was hoping we could talk. Nicole Watkins: You promised. Watson: I promised not to tell anyone you were staying here, and I didn't. Miss Watson found you all by herself. Watkins: I told the DA's Office I don't want to talk anymore. Watson: They're not the ones who sent me. Marcus did. He just wanted to make sure you're okay. Watkins: I'm not. There are people out there that want to kill me. Watson: If you're being threatened, there are measures that the department can take to protect you. Watkins: Measures aren't good enough. Not anymore. Watson: You're pregnant. Holmes (phone): Captain. Gregons (phone): Are you sure you e-mailed me the right address of that travel agency? Holmes (phone): Quite sure. Gregson (phone): This place is empty. Not just unoccupied. I mean, cleared out. Holmes (phone): I can't say I'm surprised. I've continued my own search for information on Ms. Zirin. Over the last several years, she's done an impressive job of not existing. My apologies for the inconvenience. At least we've confirmed that they were up to something untoward. Gregson (phone): I'll find out who owns the building, get the name on the lease. If I find out anything interesting, I'll give you a call. Holmes (phone): Thank you. Holmes: Ms. Zirin. At my home. Zirin: May I come in? Holmes: Depends on your intentions. Zirin: Well, obviously, you realized I'm not a travel agent. I'm Mossad. Holmes: And what is the Israeli intelligence community's interest in Barry Granger? Zirin: None, actually. But let me in and I'll tell you who I think killed him. The part about me and Barry meeting in college was true. Columbia. Barry was pre-med, I was computer science. Holmes: Your citizenship? Zirin: Dual. I was raised here mostly, but my parents are Israeli. Holmes: Hmm. So why are you here? Zirin: I'm here because I care about Barry. He is my friend. And because you left me very little choice. Holmes: Oh? Zirin: I know you're still prying. Better that I just tell you and get you to look for Barry's killer in the right place. Holmes: Well, since you're obviously in the mood for sharing, Perhaps you'd like to tell me what you and your colleagues were up to at the travel agency. Zirin: Nothing the American government would frown on. Holmes: Nothing they're aware of, either. So if it wasn't your affection Barry was after, what was it? Zirin: Someone sent an e-mail to a medical journal accusing him of fraud. Holmes: Adam Peer. Zirin: That was a pseudonym. Barry wanted me to find out who really sent it. He knew what I really did. We were in a relationship when I was first recruited. But I told him no. He was asking me to break multiple laws. Holmes: So Dr. Granger spent his final days looking for Adam Peer, and you think Adam Peer killed him for his troubles. Zirin: Well, whoever Peer is, he may value his secrecy enough to kill for it. When I heard what happened to Barry, I felt terrible about turning him away. So I broke some laws after all. I couldn't identify Peer, but I did hack the servers at some of the journals he'd written to. Those are all the e-mails I could find. Holmes: You're giving them to me because? Zirin: Well, thanks to you, my unit's being reassigned. So you can take it from here. You seem to know what you're doing. Maybe you can find the person who killed Barry and see that they pay. Bell: She know who the dad is? Watson: Her boyfriend. He's working two jobs, he wants to support them well, it's gonna be tough. You were right. She's a good kid. But when she promised to testify, she didn't know what she was getting herself into. Now that she's pregnant I mean, she wants to have a future and not just for herself. Bell: You said she was crashing with some old teacher? Watson: Yes. His name is Manny Rose. Bell: Manny Rose? Bell: What, you know him? Personally, no. But I know the legend. When I was I don't know, ten or 11, he was a history teacher over at Rooker High. Couple bangers showed up one day, tried to drag one of his kids out of his class. They didn't know Mr. Rose also helped coach the JV baseball team. Chased 'em off with a bat. Watson: He seemed like a good man. Bell: Yeah, I didn't realize Nicole knew him. Guess there's a lot I didn't know about her. Watson: Oh, you're still going over those? Holmes: Mmm. When an Israeli intelligence operative hands you a collection of illegally obtained e-mails, you don't just skim them, Watson. Watson: I don't understand why you're just taking her word for it. Holmes: I take no one at their word. But Adam Peer's gone to quite extraordinary lengths to conceal his true identity. A little murder hardly seems out of bounds. An Officer Mulgrew called for you. I assume you've taken on another investigative side project? Watson: Actually, no. He's helping me with a gift for Marcus. Which reminds me, we never finished talking... Holmes: Zirin and her team effectively disappeared last night. She didn't have to come here. She could've been on her merry way. Watson: Why do you keep doing that? Holmes: Doing what? Watson: Cutting me off whenever I talk about Marcus's party. You did that to me yesterday, too. Holmes: Because I'm not going to the party. Watson: Why don't you want to go to the party? Holmes: I'm sorry, sorry, have we met? Hi, hi. My name is Sherlock. I'm a recovering drug addict. You know, you bear a striking resemblance to a sobriety counselor I once knew. What's that you say? Triggers abound in bars? Hmm. Watson: I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was in a bar. Holmes: Mullane's, I heard it from the Captain. Watson: Is that really why you don't want to go? Holmes: You know, there are certain milestones, an officer making detective, a retirement, a wake, an injured man returning to full duty, which belong to the police, right? It's their night. It's their chance to raise a glass surrounded by their brethren. It is a fraternity to which, my countless contributions notwithstanding, I will always remain an outsider. And given my role in starting Detective Bell down his detour, it seems inappropriate that I be part of celebrating his return. Watson: Okay, I get it. Okay, so if Adam Peer is so prolific, why have they not been able to track his writing location yet? Holmes: He employs a technique called "onion routing." A message passes through multiple servers, each one with encrypted instructions for passing it on to the next step. Now, no single layer has any knowledge of the other steps, making it virtually impossible to trace the letter back to its source. Watson: This is the Toproxefin case. Holmes: You're familiar with it? Watson: It's a painkiller that the FDA rejected about four years ago, after the drug company sank millions of dollars into it. That was Adam Peer. Holmes: It was his first. Now you're impressed. Watson: No, it was a big deal. When it came out that researchers cherry-picked their data, they only disclosed positive results, and they hid the fact they knew it caused nerve damage. This drug company, Merrill-Grand, ended up paying a huge fine. Well, there was a researcher who, who tried to warn upper management about the misconduct but...you said this was Adam Peer's first? Don't serial anythings usually start close to home? Karen Buckner: Toproxefin was an embarrassing chapter for me and for the whole company. But it was never willful fraud, not at the corporate level. Sometimes when there's that much money at stake, you develop a kind of selective deafness. Holmes: Yes, well, you say tomato...we're not here to judge you. Watson: Miss Buckner, you were in charge of New Products at the time? We thought you could tell us about the researcher who first raised concerns about the drug. Buckner: Because the police think he killed someone. Watson: We just want to ask him some questions. Buckner: Okay. His name is Lawrence Cranford. He was a neurochemist on one of the study teams. He quit after his warnings were ignored. Watson: Do you know how we can find him? Buckner: He dropped out of sight after that. Holmes: Did you or anyone else at Merrill-Grand ever consider that he might be Adam Peer? Buckner: Of course we did. When the whole thing happened, our investigators tried to find him. But he'd moved. It was like he'd gone off the grid. And then when the FDA rejected it and the drug was dead anyway, we just dropped the whole thing. I can get you what we have on him. Rose: Nicole's at the doctor's. It's only a couple of blocks away. She should be here soon. Bell: I remember this park when I was a kid. You couldn't even walk through it. Looks nice now. Rose: This dealer, Martenz how bad? Bell: He's pretty bad. Deals crack, heroin works in Cypress Hills. He uses kids as go-betweens, so it's tougher to pin him down. Sorry, I have to ask is that the bat? Rose: No. I'm not that proud. That's a gift from a kid I used to coach. He's in the minors now. Arm like a cannon. Nicole'll come around, Detective. I'll see to it. Bell: Actually, Mr. Rose that's not why I came. I uh, I wanted to tell her it's okay. I understand. She doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to do. The DA's Office has their guy, and there's other evidence. They'll just have to make the best case they can. And who knows, maybe Martenz'll plead out, do a little time. Doesn't feel right to try to talk her into testifying. Rose: Martenz killed a boy. A good boy. She can explain to a jury exactly what happened. Bell: I'm sorry, I'm getting called away. It's another case. Would you tell her what I said? Thanks for the water. Watson: No luck finding Lawrence Cranford? Holmes: Worse luck. Did find him. Lawrence Cranford was apparently so disgusted by his experience with Big Pharma, and I quote from his resignation letter to Merrill-Grand, "a company so poisoned by profits that even the few good souls who remember why they got into health care are silenced", that he drove to Mexico, took up surfing, and settled in Baja. Where he was killed by a rash of unseasonably rough waves in 2012 placing my degree of certainty that he is not Adam Peer at around 100%. Bullet-riddled man. Is the decor in here not American enough for you? We could get some Rockwells, deep fat fryer... Watson: No, this is the gift I was telling you about, for Marcus. It's the target from his re-qualification test. Officer Mulgrew is a firearms instructor. He pulled it for me. Holmes: It's a nice grouping. Watson: Hmm. Other potential Adam Peers? Holmes: Each of them, at some point today. Other researchers, executives at Merrill-Grand involved in the development of Toproxefin. Watson: So you think Adam Peer was someone else inside the company. Holmes: Unfortunately, I've also already eliminated each of them, as either a co-conspirator in the fraud or unaware of it until after the scandal broke. Lawrence Cranford is the only individual who knew that his teammates were concealing negative data, but was not himself part of the deceit. Watson: Well, it has to be someone else he told. Holmes: According to his own e-mails, he only told a handful of higher-ups who rejected his warnings. Unless, of course, one of them didn't. "Even the few good souls who remember why they got into health care." Watson: He wasn't talking about himself. One of the higher-ups tried to do the right thing and Cranford knew it. Watson: Ms. Buckner! Buckner: Oh, I'm sorry, I'm actually late for an appointment... Holmes: No, no, I'm sure you can spare us a moment. Alternatively, we could head up to your superiors and share with them our suspicions that you're Adam Peer. In 2008, you headed a panel examining the corrosive effect of profit margins on American health care. And you must have known this would go over poorly with your new bosses, 'cause you left it off your resume when you applied here. Buckner: How did you...? Holmes: When Lawrence Cranford shared his concerns about Toproxefin, you wanted to stop the drug. But you couldn't. Not without losing your job. Watson: You created Adam Peer as a way to blow the whistle anonymously. And when your bosses still thought it was someone inside the company, you were able to deflect suspicion, because you were the one in charge of finding him. Holmes: According to the files you gave us, you sent your investigators looking for Cranford. He looked the part, but you only needed to run out the clock. As soon as the FDA rejected the drug, you were also the person who called off the search. I'm quite certain a thorough scan of your computer would reveal some of Adam Peer's footprints. We don't have a warrant, but we're betting that your employers will cooperate without one. Buckner: You're only half right. Because I'm only half of "Adam Peer." Watson: You have a partner. Buckner: Had. Barry. The two of us were Adam Peer together. Holmes: The murder victim Barry Granger. Buckner: I would never have hurt him. And you already know he didn't hurt himself. I'm sorry, but if you thought Adam Peer killed him you were wrong. Buckner: I already told your consultants this e-mail didn't come from us. I didn't send it, and Barry obviously didn't discredit himself. Someone hijacked our pseudonym and used it to attack Barry's study. Gregson: That's quite a hobby you two had going. How did it start? Buckner: Barry and I met at a conference about a year before the Toproxefin scandal. We shared a lot of the same concerns including the influence of money on good science. Watson: So you came up with the idea of Adam Peer together. Buckner: At first, it was just a way to expose Toproxefin. And it worked. We got away with it. And then, a few months later, Barry was reading an article in another journal and he noticed that some pictures of tissue samples were duplicates. Adam Peer already existed, so we used him again. And then we started looking for things. Plagiarism, data that was too perfect...before we knew it, Adam Peer had become something bigger than either of us. Gregson: Why didn't you say something when Dr. Granger was killed? Watson: Because it would have meant undoing all the good that Adam Peer had done. If it came out that you were an exec at a big drug company, it would've looked like any rival study you'd debunked was motivated by greed. Buckner: Barry and I talked about coming forward after he was accused of fraud. He refused, even to clear his own name. He knew that eventually his work would defend itself. So when he died, I, I did what I thought he would have wanted. Holmes: Which was nothing. Gregson: Can you account for your whereabouts Wednesday morning about 6:00 a.m.? Buckner: Uh, I was just coming off of a red-eye from San Francisco with about a half-dozen of my colleagues. Their numbers are in my phone, they'll confirm it. You're gonna tell them, aren't you? You're gonna tell everyone the truth about Adam Peer. Holmes: The device that Dr. Granger was testing could save countless lives. And the person who attempted to decry it was an imposter, so how could we not? Watson: So why go to the trouble of discrediting Barry Granger when you're going to kill him anyway? To explain the suicide? Holmes: Perhaps the target wasn't Dr. Granger, but his work. Consider the combined effect of the killer's plan. You lob an accusation of fraud and then stage it to look like Granger killed himself in shame. Watson: So you think this is corporate espionage? Holmes: Loathe as I am to admit it, Granger's benefactor Hank Prince may be right when he sees himself as the victim in all this. Prince: I can't believe it. Barry was Adam Peer. Watson: Just not the one who called your invention into question. Holmes: We've notified the journal his study appeared in the e-mail accusing fraud was, in fact, fraud itself. Might not be the same as having Dr. Granger back to clear his name, but it should reassure your investors and expedite the vetting of the good doctor's work. Prince: Thank you. You have no idea how much time you've just saved me. But, what now? Obviously, "Adam Peer" didn't kill Barry, so who did? Watson: We believe it was someone who had motive to attack you and your work. Is it safe to assume The Hound has competition? Prince: Well, of course. Holmes: Any particular rivals spring to mind? Prince: I'll write you a list. Bell: Mr. Rose. Everything all right? Rose: I had a talk with Nicole this morning. I told her that I thought that testifying was the right thing to do. It did not go well. She left. Went to stay with family of hers upstate. Bell: Sorry to hear that. But, you know, like I told you the other day she needs to do what she needs to do. Rose: I want to take her place. Bell: What? Rose: I want to testify in her place. Nicole and I must've talked a thousand times about what she saw that night. I know every detail, inside and out. Bell: You understand that's perjury, right? You could go to jail, I could lose my shield...and do you really think Martenz's attorney wouldn't see right through it? You coming forward, months after the shooting, just as Nicole backs out? He'd eat you alive on the stand and Martenz would still go free. Mr. Rose, I'm confused. I, I know you. I know how much you did for your school, your community. Rose: How much? How much have I done? Would you want your child to go to Rooker High? Would you want to raise them in my neighborhood? Bell: You really don't think you made a difference? Rose: Quame Martenz shot that boy right in front of Nicole. Didn't care that he had a family that loved him. Didn't care what that would do to Nicole. I have poured my life's blood into this neighborhood. Never did anything but the right thing. Bell: You know, I stood up to 'bangers, too, once. I was 12. They tried to get me to join up. They beat me half to death. But you know what? I didn't end up in any gang. And neither did a lot of kids. It's because of you. Look, go home, okay? Let me worry about Martenz. We don't get him this time, we will get him the next. You have my word. Watson: Well, from what I can tell, the company closest to getting another cancer-detection device on the market is called Radner Science. They're one of the biggest medical device companies in the world. Who's winning? Holmes: I'm having second thoughts. Watson: About? Holmes: Tomorrow night's festivities. I'm pleased for Detective Bell. He's accomplished quite a lot in these last few months. He deserves to be feted. Watson: Okay, first things first. Are you worried about being in a bar? Holmes: I'm not worried about triggers. I'm worried I'll distract. As I said... Watson: He would not have invited you if he didn't want you there. Holmes: Misanthropy was so easy, Watson. Elegant. I miss it sometimes. Holmes (phone): Captain? Gregson (phone): I thought you'd want to know that guy that was working with Barry Granger, Hank Prince, he's at the station. Holmes (phone): Did something happen? Gregson (phone): You could say that. His estranged wife was shot dead a few hours ago, in her home, with a gun registered to him. He's under arrest for murder. Prince: I didn't hurt my wife, okay? I would never hurt my wife. Gregson: That why she took out a restraining order against you three months ago? Prince: Her lawyer put her up to that. We had an argument on the phone, okay? That was it. Gregson: Well, according to her statement, the argument got heated, you argued about the divorce, and you told her you weren't gonna let her take a dime. Prince: She was being unreasonable. Look, for the last time, I was in a cab with my girlfriend when Andrea was shot. Her name is Sloan Teller. We were going from her place to my place. Gregson: You got a medallion number, driver's name, anything at all we can use to confirm your story? 'Cause the whole "my girlfriend is my alibi" thing is starting to wear a little thin. Prince: I got a receipt, I think. I, I, I would've left it on my counter when I got home. Are you two seriously just gonna stand there? Tell him what you told me today. Holmes: We went to see Mr. Prince because we believe someone was targeting him and his work. Prince: You hear that? Someone is after me. Someone who wants my device to fail. First they wrote that letter to discredit Barry's study. Then they killed him. But your people saw through all that, so now they're framing me for Andrea's murder. Watson: She was killed with your gun. Prince: Which must've been stolen from my home. They found it on the coffee table a few feet from Andrea's body, right? Tell me, what kind of idiot would I have to be to kill my wife with my own gun and then just leave it behind? You know what? I'm done talking. I, I want my lawyer. Gregson: Either this guy did the dumbest job shooting his ex I've ever seen, or someone's doing a really good job ruining his life. Holmes: Mmm. The man developed a machine for detecting cancer via exhalations, I don't think he's dumb. Gregson: You think he's telling the truth? Someone's setting him up? Holmes: He had motive to kill his wife, there were no signs of forced entry, so she probably knew her attacker, his gun was the murder weapon. Watson: But there were no prints on it, and he does have a point. He'd have to be an idiot to kill her this way. Gregson: Well, I'm gonna send a team to his house to find that receipt. We don't find it, he better pray you two figure out who's gunning for him. Watson: I'm dreaming this, right? You're not seriously waking me up again. Holmes: The detectives who searched Hank Prince's home found the taxi receipt, just like he said they would. They identified the cab driver, they showed him photographs of Prince and his girlfriend, Sloan Teller. He I.D.'d the both of them. Remembered them vividly, mostly Ms. Teller, vividly. Watson: I haven't even met her, and I can picture her vividly. But so what? The guy has an alibi. He could've hired anyone to shoot his wife. Holmes: Would you hire someone to kill someone for you, go to the trouble of establishing an alibi, and then hand that person your gun to commit the crime? For the time being, Mr. Prince has been released from custody. And until a better theory presents itself, I believe we must continue operating under our previous assumption that someone is targeting Prince in an effort to undermine The Hound. Watson: I get that framing the head of a company for murder could throw a hitch in his business plan, but it's a hell of a long way to go. Holmes: Precisely the reason that I think we need to focus our attention on an individual disposed to going to such lengths. Last night, you mentioned a likely home for our corporate saboteur, a company called Radner Science. Watson: I wasn't even sure you heard that. Holmes: Well, not only did I hear it, I spent most of the night considering it, and I have concluded that I agree. I read the autobiography of its CEO, Charles "Call me Chuck" Hammond, and he's just the kind of Sun Tzu-quoting, take no prisoners corporate executive that one might expect to ignore all boundaries of moral decency. Plus, the company is developing a device in direct competition to The Hound. However, from what I can infer from the Internet, they may be as much as one year behind in the race. Come on. Watson: Are you okay? You seem hyper. Holmes: I may have had a coffee or three with my tea this morning. Chuck Hammond: Are you joking about this? Holmes: Two lives have been taken, a third is on the verge of ruination. It's not really a joking matter. Watson: You do admit you know about Hank Prince and the two murders. Hammond: Of course I do. It's my job to know. Holmes: Because your cancer-detecting products are in competition. Hammond: I don't know what sort of weird cloak and dagger world you live in, but in mine, we don't go around killing our competition. We don't have to because there is and always has been a pretty damn effective alternative. Watson: And what might that be? Hammond: Buying them. I have a whole floor full of analysts whose job is to do nothing more than pay attention to start-ups like Hank Prince. We watch, we wait, we prepare a bid, and then when all this dust settles, if his device is any good, we pay him handsomely for his company. We put the words Radner Science on the side of his Hound, and nobody's happier than me. Make sense? Holmes: Entirely. Yes, our apologies for interrupting your breakfast. You've been most helpful. Watson: Are you crashing? You look like you're crashing. Holmes: No, I'm ascending, actually. I believe I've determined who has the strongest motive to hurt Hank Prince. Watson: Who? Holmes: Hank Prince. Hank's Lawyer: Captain. Care to explain why photographs of my client and his girlfriend have been taped to those chairs? Prince: What's this? Holmes: We met Chuck Hammond this morning. Colorful chap. He was kind enough to give us this. It is Radner Science's financial analysis of your company, over time. If The Hound proves to be as successful as Barry Granger's research suggested it would be, you stand to become a very wealthy man. Watson: Your problem is that you were in the middle of a divorce. Your wife's lawyers were busy trying to figure out how much you would be worth in the future so they would know how much you would have to share. You wanted your future to disappear, but only temporarily. Holmes: You came up with a tidy plan. Impersonate Adam Peer to suggest that Dr. Granger falsified his results. Then murder him, stage it as a suicide, simultaneously removing the one man who could defend his work and legitimizing the accusations of fraud. Watson: Once the divorce was finalized and the company was out of your wife's reach, well, Barry's work would be vindicated. The company's value would skyrocket, and you would be able to keep your millions. Gregson: Your company's value was gonna rebound too quickly. You were still dead set against sharing anything with your wife, so you went to plan B, you killed her. Holmes: Realizing that as the estranged husband, you would inevitably be the prime suspect, you hatched another devious plan. You framed yourself for a murder you actually committed. Watson: The other day, we told you that we thought someone was targeting you. You took that idea and ran with it. You murdered your wife because you thought it fit with the narrative of our case. You were being framed by someone who wanted to destroy you. Hank's Lawyer: You're forgetting my client has an alibi for both murders. You interviewed Sloan Teller and the cab driver yourselves. Gregson: Ms. Teller wouldn't be the first girlfriend to falsely alibi a guy for his wife's murder. And as far as the cab driver goes... Holmes: This is the actual partition from the cab in question. Have a look through it. Would it surprise you to learn that upon being re-interviewed, the cab driver admitted that he barely saw the gentleman in the backseat. His attention was far more focused on the provocatively dressed Ms. Teller. As you intended. Gregson: We got a warrant for Ms. Teller's apartment. Turns out, she spent most of the day yesterday on TrueRomantix.com, specifically searching for guys about your height, build and hair color who might be interested in going on a date with her last night. Once we discovered that, she flipped on you pretty quick. Bell (phone): Bell. Hey, man. Yeah, that was mine. When? Dr. Eugene Hawes: The way it was described to me, Mr. Rose walked up to Mr. Martenz on Euclid Avenue and no warning, just emptied his weapon. A couple of Martenz's friends returned fire. Both were declared dead at the scene. Did you know him? Bell: Only the legend. Holmes: And there was me thinking the party would be inside. Bell: Hey. I wasn't sure you'd come. Holmes: Well, neither was I. Had I known this would be the extent of the revelry, I might have committed much sooner. Bell: You ever have one of those nights? Holmes: My fair share. Bell: I worked my ass off to get back, really back. Harder than I've worked at anything my whole life. Everyone in there is expecting me to be happy tonight, but... Holmes: Yeah. The work we do...there's often a price. Bell: I don't know. I guess I'm just not ready to go inside yet. Holmes: Well, don't. Not yet. There's a coffee shop on the corner. Bell: That an invitation? Holmes: Well, they'll still be here when you're ready. Category:Transcripts